Eclipse chasers blaze trail to Oregon for view of a lifetime
Just before sunrise, there's typically nothing atop Round Butte but the whistle of the wind and a panoramic view of Oregon's second-highest peak glowing pink in the faint light. But on Aug. 21, local officials expect this lookout point just outside the small town of Madras to be crammed with people from around the world, all hoping for the first glimpse of the moon's shadow as it crosses Mount Jefferson's snow fields. Then, a solar eclipse will throw the entire region into complete darkness for two minutes. Read more
NASA Prepares for Aug. 21 Total Solar Eclipse with Live Coverage, Safety Information
NASA Television will air a multi-hour show, Eclipse Across America: Through the Eyes of NASA, with unprecedented live video of the celestial event, along with coverage of activities in parks, libraries, stadiums, festivals and museums across the nation, and on social media. Coast to coast, from Oregon to South Carolina, 14 states will - over a span of almost two hours - experience more than two minutes of darkness in the middle of the day. When the moon completely blocks the sun, day will turn into night and make visible the otherwise hidden solar corona, the sun's atmosphere. Bright stars and planets also will become visible. Using specialized solar viewing glasses or other equipment, all of North America will be able to view at least a partial eclipse lasting two to four hours. Read more
NSF will join several federal agencies and science organizations June 21 for two back-to-back briefings organized by NASA to provide important solar eclipse viewing safety, travel and science information. For the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will cross the nation Aug. 21. During the eclipse, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is funding research to learn more about the sun and space weather, including a citizen science project that will capture data about the sun at 68 sites along the path of the eclipse and an aircraft equipped with a special spectrometer that will acquire new data about the sun's corona. Read more
More than 12 million people - from Oregon to South Carolina - live on the path of darkness that the Moon will cut as it sweeps in front of the Sun. Nearly four times that many live within a two-hour's drive. And then there are all the tourists who will flock to America to witness the spectacle. It makes the eclipse a wonderful citizen science opportunity. Read more
NASA Moon Data Provides More Accurate 2017 Eclipse Path
On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, millions in the U.S. will have their eyes to the sky as they witness a total solar eclipse. The moon's shadow will race across the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina. The path of this shadow, also known as the path of totality, is where observers will see the moon completely cover the sun. And thanks to elevation data of the moon from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, coupled with detailed NASA topography data of Earth, we have the most accurate maps of the path of totality for any eclipse to date. Read more
Students send balloon up 87,000 feet to prepare for 2017 solar eclipse
Two years before a total solar eclipse crosses the United States, the Montana Space Grant Consortium continues to prepare for its role as a national leader in monitoring the rare sighting. The latest rehearsal took place on a windy spring day in northern Montana as Montana State University, University of Montana and Montana Tech students launched a high-altitude weather balloon from U.S. Sen. Jon Testers farm near Big Sandy. Read more
Kentucky town becomes prime spot for world's eclipse chasers
When a total eclipse of the sun darkens skies on Aug. 21, 2017, the show will last longer in a stretch of bucolic hill country near Hopkinsville than any place on the planet. It will last two minutes and 40 seconds, not much longer than the Kentucky Derby. But already this town of 32,000 near the Tennessee border is making preparations to cash in on the fortuitous celestial alignment. Read more